Wednesday, November 10, 2010

[Book Review] ROOM by Emma Donoghue

Jack loves his Ma, and Ma loves Jack. In fact, Ma is Jack’s entire world. He has never known a single day of his five years without her. Ma is there when Jack wakes up in the mornings, they spend all day, everyday together, and she is there when Jack goes to sleep at night.

Jack and Ma are the victims of a brutal kidnapping.

Ma was abducted by Old Nick seven years ago when she was a 19-year-old college student. She does not want either of the two males to ever see the other, so when Old Nick “visits” Ma, she hides Jack in the Wardrobe to sleep.

Ma is an amazing, faithful woman who uses what pitiful resources the 11 x 11 foot underground shed has to educate and amuse Jack every single day. Giving each inanimate object a name and personality, Ma makes sure Jack is learning new things daily.

Telling the story from five year old Jack’s point of view may seem like a gimmick to some, but this reviewer thought it was brilliant. When Ma begins to explain to Jack about Outside and how other people exist, not just on TV, readers will feel his confusion and heartache.

Readers will laugh at Jack’s precociousness, will cry at his and Ma’s desperate situation, but most important of all, they will keep reading to see what happens next.